Henri Laurens

Landau Fine Art, Montreal
Acquired from the above

"Henri Laurens," Le Point, Lanzac par Souillac, July 1946, illustration of another cast p. 45
Henri Laurens (exhibition catalogue), Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, 1960, illustration of another cast p. 25
Henri Laurens (exhibition catalogue), Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 1967, no. 83, illustration of another cast
Werner Hofmann, The Sculpture of Henri Laurens, New York, 1970, illustrations of another cast pp. 33 & 193
Henri Laurens: bronzes, collages, drawings, prints (exhibition catalogue), Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield; Dundee Museum; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff;  Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, 1971, illustration of another version on the frontispiece
Henri Laurens 1885-1954 (exhibition catalogue), Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 1985, no. 36, illustration of another cast p. 45

Work is in excellent condition. Dark brown patina. A few minor nicks and scratches on the base. A few tiny spots of acretion on the back of the figure's neck, otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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During the last years of his life, Laurens was particularly interested in allegorical themes as subjects for his art. In 1944, he executed a marble of a nude woman entitled L'Aurore, a work he would also cast in bronze at a later date, and the present work is from that bronze edition.  The theme of sunrise rendered in the form of a woman was indeed a poignant selection for the artist near the end of his life, and here it is executed with a notable vitality. To convey the sensation of transformation and awakening befitting the subject of dawn, Laurens strategically distributes weight and volume throughout the form, grounding the figure's legs and feet with the downward sloping curves while reversing the breasts, neck, head and arms in an upward direction. Laurens once commented, "I strive for the ripeness of forms- I would like to make them so full and luscious that nothing more could be added to them" (Werner Hoffman, op. cit., p. 32).

Although influenced by the voluptuous nudes of Maillol and Matisse, Laurens developed his own distinctive manner of portraying the female form. Combining organic volumes with energetic angles and curves, Laurens sculpture alludes to the Cubist penchant for deconstructing and recombining the composition. The dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler described this quality of Laurens' work: "The appearance of curvilinear forms in Laurens' work in no way signaled a renunciation of Cubism but was a part of normal evolution towards a new orientation" (ibid., p. 50).

Fig. 1 Henri Laurens in his studio, 1944, photograph by Robert Doisneau